India pile on after England snatch the early wicket

Joe Root made partial amends to his costly dropping of Rohit Sharma by looking after Ravindra Jadeja but England were still forced to toil against India in Rajkot.

Root set up a tough chance when Rohit was on 27 on the opening day of the third Test, as the India captain amassed another 104 runs, but the Yorkshireman held out when Jadeja offered him a return catch on the second morning.

Jadeja's dismissal for 112 left India on 331 for seven but hopes of a quick result to the innings were frustrated by the stubbornness of debutant Dhruv Gurriel (31 not out) and Ravichandran Ashwin (25 not out).

The pair put on an uninterrupted 57 to take India to 388 for seven at lunch, although England got an unexpected helping hand from Ashwin, whose unnecessary encroachment at mid-on earned the tourists five penalties.

Jadeja was formally warned for running into the so-called 'danger zone' the night before and any other indiscretion would result in the opposing team starting their innings with five down for no loss.

He pushed Ashwin to run before sending him back but because he did not move to the side, increasing the risk of scuffing the surface, he was disciplined, much to his dismay, by umpire Joel Wilson.

England started the day needing a quick wicket as India resumed to 326 for five and overpowered the overnight batsmen within the first five overs, with Anderson compiling a Test dismissal of 696 after bowling out night watch Kuldeep Yadav.

Anderson found a hint of movement wide with a relatively new ball to take the outside edge and Ben Fox made a simple catch.

Root came on a few occasions before gratefully accepting a tame slice from Jadeja, who was expected to marshal the lower order when the day started.

But Gurriel averages 46 in first-class cricket, while India's number nine Ashwin has five Test centuries, so England's work was far from complete. Gurriel showed his class by cutting top Mark Wood, the England bowlers' pick the day before, for six.

Tom Hartley won the bat on several occasions and rare edges fell off the fielders as India crawled towards a score of over 400, even if Ashwin's over was giving England a lead early in their innings.